Lot 230: Efim (Yefim) Davidovich Simkin (Cimkin)

Efim (Yefim) Davidovich Simkin (Cimkin) (1915-2001), Russian PORTRAIT OF PIANIST LAZAR BERMAN; Oil on canvas; signed in cyrillics lower left, signed and titled in cyrillics and dated 1982 verso. Unframed. 39" x 27" - 99.1 x 68.6 cm.

Provenance: Estate of the artist; donated by the artist's wife, Rasia Shaya Duvidovna Ostrovskaya, Moscow to Mrs. Svetlana Kogan-Rabinovitch, Toronto

Literature: Matthew Cullerne Bown, A Dictionary of Twentieth Century Russian and Soviet Painters 1900-1980's, pg.294 Note: Born May 15, 1915 in the city of Kiev, Efim comments in his biography that he often thought of his childhood and many of his paintings are based on his memories of that wonderful time. With the death of his mother, his family broke up and in 1925, after wandering all over the city for a long time, he ended up in a Commune House in Kiev where they provided an all-round education, including art classes which Efim states he would remember with gratitude all his life. At this residence, Efim studied under artist, Emmanuil Iosifovich Shekhtman (Shechman), whom Efim described as a gifted and remarkable man. Efim studied at the 1905 Moscow Region Art College from 1938-1940. From 1942-1944, he fought in the Great Patriotic War where he lost an arm near Stalingrad. Efim returned to his native city in 1944. There, in Babiy Yar, he created many paintings that depicted the tragedies of war suffered by his brothers, their wives and children. While studying at the Moscow Art Institute (until about 1947-1949) Efim remembered Shekhtman's teachings. In 1949, Efim's graduating year, he studied under Alexander A. Osmerkin who inspired the young artist to paint war themes resulting in the creation of his degree work, "Dugout", and his acceptance as a member of the Moscow Artist's Union. Starting in 1949, Efim began participating on a regular basis in many of the general Moscow, all-republic and all union exhibitions. Important shows included the exhibition "Soviet Russia", Moscow in 1960. In 1972, Efim began working on a major series of paintings on the subject of the Great Patriotic War. He states, "One who fought in the war can never forget it. I still dream about the war to this day, and my dreams are reflected in my compositions. I paint pictures about the war for the sake of world peace..." Efim once said, " In my mind, Mozart's music is always associated with the enormous tragedy of the Great Patriotic War. Inspired by Mozart's Requiem, I created a series of pictures under the title 'Requiem (after Mozart)'". According to I.P. Gorin, the artist "composes his works based upon his own experiences. The content of his painting is, first and foremost, the result of his painful reflections of that time. While listening to Mozart, he tries to convert them to visible, specific form, he repeats and clarifies his compositions and increases their expressivity". Although, this portrait of pianist Lazar Berman is not from the series "Mozart Requiem", it incorporates thematic similarities.